Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Gatlin.
Hi Shawn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I originally was a musician in Los Angeles and that began my art journey as I was the one that made most of the artwork for the bands. Around 2010 my wife and myself lived around Melrose and Fairfax and got swept up by street art and joined scene by getting up as much as we could. Frequently using the brightest neon colors to grab people’s attention, other times using muted colors but always matching each other’s artist palette. That was super important to us, to be recognized as a duo. That is why we chose to form Cult 33 (our artist collective). We noticed most street artists ran with a clique, so we thought we’d be funny and make a crew that was named after the Disneyland restaurant Club 33.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life always likes to throw obstacles in your way, no matter who you are. So, it hasn’t always been the smoothest ride, but hopefully, I was able to learn something from the past. I’ve learned that hearing “no ” isn’t the worst thing in the world, but in the past, the possibility of that held me hostage…no matter what I was trying to do. But you know what? Who the hell cares what ANYONE thinks?! There are a million possibilities and things you can do, just move on to the next one and kick ass. Do what YOU like, stay true to yourself and you will thank yourself later. Trust me, I’m old and had to learn the hard way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As previously mentioned, I have been doing street art for over 10 years. I started by using images of Lung Leg from the Richard Kern movie, “You Killed Me First”. When I started making street art, I used the classic image from the end of the movie, then I started putting the name on images and the name stuck as my own. I had been focusing on graphic design and started adding things like mock companies and logo takeovers. After relocating to Las Vegas, we then focused on making the transition from street art into fine art, all the while still maintaining our edge by staying active in the streets and making trips to regulate back in Los Angeles. I have recently had the fortune of being picked to be represented by The Art Hound Gallery in London, and have been fortunate enough to be included in many shows overseas and locally.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Putting up illegal street art for over 10 years with my wife with no issues leads me to think that luck has had an enormous effect on myself and my career. You sometimes have to take chances no matter what the outcome, why just sit in your room wondering if you/it/they/ will be good enough for people? I honestly am very insecure about my artwork, but over time I came to see that the things I didn’t like about it were the things people enjoyed seeing. My mistakes were somehow still art to people, that was a tough lesson that I still don’t understand. I often like to think luck has zero to do with people and their success and then other times I look at people and think “How did they get so damn lucky?!”. The best thing for me is to put my head down and focus on what I am doing, other people do not and will not affect my future. So why even bother being negative?
Contact Info:
- Website: cult33.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/youkilledmefirst
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youkilledmefirstart
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/youkilledme1st
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-5XDYoSydjsm1SSjma0Kmw
